


Truth Be Told

by SippingMyTea



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Curses, Disgusting Creatures, Frogs, M/M, Magic, Magic Revealed, Merlin is cursed, Spiders, Truth and Lies, Witch Curses
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-07
Updated: 2019-05-07
Packaged: 2020-01-31 05:18:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18584551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SippingMyTea/pseuds/SippingMyTea
Summary: Merlin is a great liar, somewhat. At least he can hide things well and talk himself out of whatever trouble he manages to get into. But one day, after he lied to a sorceress, she cursed him that, whenever he speaks the truth, rewards like coins manifest in and spill from his mouth if he isn't careful, but when he lies, vile creatures, slimy frogs, toads, the occasional spider, manifest and spill from his mouth as punishment. He has, to keep both the rewards and punishments secret, developed a habit of mumbling and speaking unclearly.He still has to hide his magic, but on top of that, he also has to hide the curse, for which there seems to be no cure, and he despairs a bit when he becomes Prince Arthur's manservant. Even more so when, later, circumstances may force him to reveal, at least, his curse.How on earth will he hide both his magic and his curse from the Prince of Camelot?!





	Truth Be Told

**Author's Note:**

> This was a concept I just had to try out. Let's hope I did so successfully!  
> Enjoy!

Merlin grew up almost like any other child, except for his magic which he had had since he had been born. He had been able to move things with only his mind, make fire with it too, fell trees, and many more things. He was great at hiding this gift from everyone but his mother and his best friend Will, though the latter he could have hidden it from, he had merely chosen not to at some point. It was laughably easy, really, at least to him it was. He had once overheard his mother speaking with Will — Merlin had been gathering wood for her when Will had come over to ask him to go somewhere with him but had only found Merlin's mother — admitting to her worries about how well Merlin could lie. She was afraid that one day his lies would get him into trouble.

And, indeed, one day it had.

For just like in many of the tales his mother had told him (in which liars met a sorceress and were cursed for lying to her to only ever speak the truth, or some other punishment. Even in his young age when he'd heard these stories, Merlin wasn't sure why the curse of truth was used as punishment in those stories if their intent was to keep a child from lying, and using truth as punishment would not encourage the child to be honest. It made little sense to him), he had met a sorceress one day and had, as was his habit, lied to her. He had lied about his magic. He had done some magic and had been caught by the sorceress who had then questioned him. In his panic, he had lied, had lied rather well, but the sorceress had not accepted it and had been rather offended by his lying to her.

And thus, to teach him a lesson, she had cursed him. She hadn't, admittedly, meant the curse to manifest as it had, but she hadn't lived long enough to reverse it, for the village had discovered her and thus King Cenred had as well, and she was dragged off and away. Merlin had henceforth been stuck with the curse.

The curse was truly to punish him for lies, yes, but also to reward him for honesty. Whenever he lied, vile creatures would slip from his mouth, like toads and frogs and slugs, slimy, slippery creatures, snakes, too, every once in a while and, in a particularly nasty incident, a tarantula. There was a pattern to these creatures corresponding with certain lies as well. Frogs, tiny and often rather cute, slipped past his mouth at little lies, well-meant lies, lies that everyone told like "Yes, it does suit you well," or "No, the field isn't crooked." Whereas the bigger the lie became, the more vile and slimy and disgusting the creature on his tongue, slipping past his lips would be. Merlin wondered if only the creatures he had previously spat out were all that would ever find their way into his mouth, or if, one dreadful day, he might find something even worse in there, like a rat. He shuddered at the thought even to this day. The sorceress had called the punishment for his lies: pest.

Such was the punishment, and it always felt utterly disgusting, but the reward for honesty was far different.

The reward for honesty was prosperity, such was what the sorceress had called it when she had put the curse onto him. Whenever he told the truth, things of wealth found their way onto his tongue and past his mouth, like coins, gold coins, exotic seeds, sometimes even exotic fruits and nuts and roots and herbs, jewels, pearls, silver, and in one particular instance purple silk. The rewards were correspondent with how much easier a lie could have saved him, especially when he had to admit to something. The day he had told Will about his magic was the day the purple silk had appeared in his mouth, which he had promptly given to Will. Little truths gifted him with few coins of small worth, not much but not little. The bigger the truth, the more valuable the reward. He honestly tried to be more honest, if only for the sake of his mother, so that she wouldn't worry about neither his lies, nor being poor, but still, he found it rather difficult. At least the curse was kind to him when he lied about his magic, only putting little frogs, and occasionally toads into his mouth, depending on whether he lied because his magic had done harm or not. The more significant the truth, the bigger the reward.

Over the years, he had learnt how to deal with the curse, learnt how far he could push the truth to be neither rewarded nor punished for something that was only a lie from another perspective. It taught him to be vague and let people assume, then neither confirming nor denying the assumption, though making it sound such accordingly. It was a thin line, and he had not yet entirely mastered it, but he had become rather good at walking just along it. He also learnt exactly what truths rewarded him with what, especially the truths that rewarded him with exotic fruit and nuts and roots and herbs. It was convenient, and he learned to like them well, especially since when herbs appeared in his mouth they were always the well-tasting ones that would heal him from whatever little pain he had at that moment, like headaches or stomach pains and so on. He developed the habit to speak little such truths to himself in the dark of the night and collect the fruit in bowls to wash in the morning. When he spoke truths clearly, the fruits or other rewards did not really manifest in his mouth but rather just outside of it, never touching his tongue. Only when he mumbled the truths would the rewards appear in his mouth, hidden from view which made them easier to hide when in public, which was why he began to mumble when he spoke to other people. But besides the fruit, he tried especially hard to try and learn what truths gave him seeds that his mother might need or might be able to sell. Really, he spoke truths mostly for the sake of his mother and his sweet tooth, and spoke lies as he usually did.

However, after a nasty encounter with a passing traveller that had Merlin nearly revealed, both magic and curse at the same time, he began to speak very little outside of the hut he shared with his mother. He would only really talk to his mother and Will, and to everyone else only if it could not be avoided. He carried that trait over even into early adulthood.

To everyone else in the village, Merlin had very suddenly turned from a loud-mouthed child to a quiet and shy little boy, who would only ever mutter politely if he ever spoke to them at all. It was accepted rather quickly by the people of Ealdor, though the sudden change had a lot of the old women, who Merlin had always been very nice to no matter what he and Will did, very concerned for his well-being, and they had approached Merlin about it a couple of times, though Merlin would only shake his head and mutter something under his breath at them, and disappear, running away very quickly.

Hiding the curse from the people of Ealdor, however, became more and more difficult. In the end, it had been nearly impossible, truly, and it was the reason his mother had decided, once he was 18 years old, that it would be best for him to go to an old friend of hers in Camelot.

And such was how his destiny, tainted by his curse, had really begun.

 

When he arrived in Camelot, he witnessed an execution of a sorcerer, detailing a grim fate for him should he ever be found out as well. As if he had needed more incentive to keep both his magic and his curse hidden. A woman began crying, accusing the king of ignorance and hate and telling him, quite threateningly, that before the celebrations the king had announced were over, he would share in her grief, a son for a son. Then she had disappeared using magic.

After this commotion, Merlin quietly asked a guard to point him to the court physician and followed to where the guard had pointed, finding a plaque nailed to the stone wall reading 'Court Physician', and he followed the stairs up until he found a door, opening it, and entering, calling for the physician by his name.

"Gaius?" he asked quietly into the room, partly afraid to disturb someone if he spoke too loudly and partly out of the habit of being quiet, finding it seemingly empty. Only seemingly, for then he found the physician atop a second, wooden floor, rifling through shelves, looking for something.

When the old man heard his name called, he turned and leant backwards, leaning against the railing. It broke quite suddenly under the applied pressure, as it was old and wooden both, and the man fell, would have fallen to his death as well, but Merlin, quite instinctually, used his magic. He slowed time, looked around in a panic, discovered a bed, and moved it with his magic to catch the man and soften his fall so that he would not break anything and be only mildly injured if at all. It worked, to his joy, but then he realised what he had just done. Gaius also realised what Merlin had just done and scrambled off the bed, demanding Merlin to explain what he had just done.

"What did you just do! Tell me!" Gaius demanded as he scrambled off the bed.

The lie came easily to Merlin, though he spoke it quietly, "I have no idea what happened!" and he was only punished by the smallest of frogs. He knew it would be weird to spit it out, so he kept it in his left cheek, hoping, praying that it wasn't noticeable.

"If anyone has seen that-"

"No, that was nothing to do with me!" Merlin defended, mumbling, with another lie, slightly louder than before, earning him a slightly bigger frog, which he stuffed into his right cheek. When Gaius, in bewilderment, looked away and around, not looking at Merlin, Merlin spat the frogs into his neckerchief and hid them there. He was glad these frogs didn't move around much.

"I know what it was! I just want to know where you learnt how to do it!" Gaius demanded once more.

"Nowhere," Merlin replied quickly, still a mumble. It was true. He was rewarded with a few coins which he pushed into his right cheek.

"Speak up, boy! How is it you know magic!" Gaius continued.

"I don't!" He mumbled loudly. Another frog, a tiny one this time. He pushed it into the other cheek.

"Where did you study?" Gaius asked, calmer now, the adrenaline rush having finally passed. Then, when Merlin was quiet, louder, he demanded, "Answer me!"

"I never studied magic, or been taught." He was rewarded with a couple more coins, which he accidentally pushed into the same cheek as the frog.

"Are you lying to me, boy?" Gaius asked angrily. Merlin nearly wanted to laugh but kept it down.

"What do you want me to say?" He asked earnestly, going to back to talking just above a whisper.

"The truth," Gaius answered firmly. Merlin actually nearly laughed at that.

"I was born with this," he explained. He could feel silk manifesting in his mouth. How would he hide that?

"That's impossible!" Gaius asserted, then he seemed to catch himself and looked at Merlin in renewed and bewildered confusion. "Who are you?"

"Oh," Merlin said cleverly, pulling off his backpack and sneakily covered his face with it, looking for the letter his mother had given him for Gaius, he pulled out the silk scarf, the coins and the frog and stuffed them inside, pulling out the letter moments after, "I have his, uh, letter." This nearly insignificant truth earned him a few more coins. He handed the letter to Gaius.

"I don't have my glasses," Gaius said as he took the letter.

"I'm Merlin," he finally introduced himself, meekly.

Gaius looked at him in surprise, mouth open and eyes wide and all. "Hunith's son?" he asked.

Merlin smiled brightly in relief, "Yes!" This and the previous truth were both too insignificant to warrant a reward.

"But you're not meant to be here till Wednesday!" Gaius proclaimed and Merlin lost his smile to one of confusion.

"It is... Wednesday," Merlin said hesitantly.

"Ah..." Gaius nodded cleverly, "Right then. You better put your bag in there" And he pointed to the door a bit further into the room. Merlin began walking in the direction Gaius had pointed to, but he suddenly turned around, gesturing to the broken railing and the bed below it.

"You won't say anything about, uh..." he didn't quite finish his sentence. Neither reward nor punishment.

"No," Gaius nodded, then shook his head. Merlin was relieved and turned again to do as Gaius had told him to do. "Although, Merlin," he said and Merlin spun around, "I should say 'thank you'."

Merlin said nothing but shot Gaius an appreciative smile and nod, then turned to finally enter his new room, the one he would be living in.

He put his things on the bed, then looked for the frogs he had spit into his neckerchief, and the one he had stuffed into his backpack, and when he found them, he sighed. They were in a tower, and he couldn't just throw them out of the window like he had done at home when the lies and creatures alike had piled up in the house. He didn't really want to kill them. It wasn't their fault after all that he was a compulsive liar. Oh, and that he was cursed, too. He decided to keep them for now, and he took the biggest one in his hand, putting the others into the cupboard he found so they would jump around his room where he might accidentally step on them and have to clean frog guts from the floor. Never a pleasant task, for anyone, truly. 

He put away his things and decided to stay in for the rest of the day to get used to his new room, the place he wanted to be able to call his home sooner rather than later. Evening came sooner than he had anticipated when he was done rearranging things and his things to his liking. He lit a few candles with magic, being careful that no one saw him, and he made his bed. He took the biggest frog from the cupboard and walked over to the window. It was bigger than he had anticipated, and he opened it, looking out on Camelot in the lovely shades of the night, soft and dark, with stars twinkling above. He petted the frog in his hands and turned it so it also saw the beauty of it all. He felt strangely at peace, like he had found the place he belonged. The quiet of the night and the soft breeze caressed his cheeks and he couldn't wait for what his life here would entail. Though, he decided, he should tell Gaius about his curse, if his mother hadn't told him about it already. But in the morning. Now, he decided, he ought to enjoy the tranquil buzzing his magic gave for him in the dark of the night with only the moon, glowing softly, and the frog in his hands as his company. He smiled. He was sure things would go fine.

The next morning he sat down with Gaius at the table, eating breakfast. Gaius asked him to deliver a few things after breakfast, likely to familiarise Merlin with the castle and its occupants, and Merlin nodded along as he committed the given tasks to memory. As Gaius finished speaking, Merlin looked up and was ready to tell Gaius of his curse.

"Gaius?" Merlin began quietly to gain Gaius' attention, "Has my mother told you about..."

"Hm? Oh, your... curse?" Gaius asked to clarify and Merlin nodded. "She has, but I haven't yet seen it, so I was hoping you had managed to be rid of it."

"No, I'm afraid not," Merlin mumbled with a frown, "Did she tell you how it manifests?"

"I fear she has been rather unclear on the matter. I assume she feared the letter might not be opened only by me. And please, speak up a bit. I can barely understand your mumbling."

"Well," Merlin tried to speak more clearly. It really was an odd habit, but mumbling had always helped him hiding the rewards and punishment. "I suppose it was meant to encourage me to be honest more than I lie, which it hasn't worked. When I lie, it is punished, disgusting creatures fall out of my mouth. The bigger the lie, the viler the creature, but when I speak the truth," he paused and gestured to the gold coins and miscellaneous jewels that had fallen out of his mouth as he spoke because he keeps them in when he spoke clearly. Gaius looked at the wealth in surprise. Telling someone about his curse was one of the bigger truths, whereas lying about it was punished only mildly.

Gaius was surprised to see the gold and jewels falling out of Merlin's mouth, and he blinked in surprise, his eyebrow shooting up. "Goodness," he breathed as he picked up one of the gold coins and examined it.

"The more significant the truth, the higher the reward," Merlin explained, "Though, to be honest, haha, it's mostly inconvenient. And it's a pain to keep secret from others."

"I can imagine, but you must be sure that it remains a secret, nearly as much, or perhaps just as much as your magic," Gaius said and Merlin nodded with understanding. Merlin had already made plans, much like in Ealdor, not to speak so much outside of Gaius' chambers, to avoid speaking too many truths or lies. He was really more afraid of the truths, rather than the lies. With the lies he could always claim it to be a prank he wished to play on someone, what with the creatures, but the rewards were not as easy to explain away. People would become suspicious of where he got them from, and he might get into trouble because of it, seeing as he had no reason to have so much wealth, at least not unless he had stolen it, which would put him into an awkward situation. Namely being accused of stealing, and he did not want that. It would require him to speak, and it would require him to lie and be honest, both of which not ideal.

He nodded and finished his breakfast, a sandwich, and he gathered the things Gaius wanted him to deliver. He made his way around the castle, making deliveries, only having to ask where to go twice, for which he was glad. It wouldn't be too difficult to make his way around the castle, he realised pleasantly, and it would not be too long until he would be able to find his way around blind. He was just on his way to deliver something to the lower town, but got a bit sidetracked when he heard the knights were training on the training field, and he was curious, so he chanced a look there. On the training field were a couple of knights and a servant carrying around a few things. The knights, especially the blonde in the middle of the group, made fun of the servant, throwing insults at him about his intelligence. Merlin muttered under his breath, something about rude people who think they're better than everyone else, but he was about to be on his way, until the blonde knight turned the servant into moving target practise, that is.

The servant stumbled and fell, predictably, and the shield he had been carrying and at which the blonde knight had been throwing knives, rolled over to Merlin and he placed a foot on top of it, staring at the blonde knight unimpressed, raising a brow. He muttered something and the blonde knight approached him with a smug grin on his face.

"Oh, what was that? I didn't quite catch that!" he said loudly, clearly mocking Merlin's muttering.

"That's enough, friend," said Merlin, only a bit louder, so that only the blonde would be able to hear him.

"Do I know you?" the blonde raised a brow in mocking amusement.

"I'm Merlin," answered Merlin in an attempt to remain polite and he stretched out a hand for the blonde to take, which the other did not.

"Oh, so I don't know you," the blonde quirked his brow up, unimpressed. Awkwardly, Merlin dropped his hand back to his side and he shook his head instead of answering verbally. "And yet, you, _Merlin_ , called me 'friend'," said the blonde, an amused laugh leaving him.

"Mistake," Merlin shrugged, but he was neither rewarded nor punished, though he wasn't sure whether that was for lack of significance or because it was one of those things that may be viewed as both lie and/or truth at the same time.

"Yeah, I'd think so-"

"I'd not have such an ass for a friend," challenged Merlin with half an amused smile and the blonde actually let out an amused scoff of a laugh. It wasn't often that Merlin spoke so much with a stranger. But he realised he still had a delivery to make and turned to go on his merry way, but the blonde decided to jab back.

"Nor I one who'd be so _stupid_!" The blonde said loudly after Merlin. Merlin stopped and turned around when the blonde continued, "Tell me, Merlin. Do you know how to walk on your knees?"

That sounded highly suggestive, Merlin thought for a moment, a blush beginning to spread on his cheeks before he caught himself. There was no way the blonde knight had meant it that way. Merlin raised a brow and said, "No," in a plain but quiet tone. He really wasn't used to talking much at all. Especially not with strangers.

"Would you like me to help you?" the blonde knight stepped closer, a condescending smirk on his face.

"You don't want that," Merlin replied, barely above a breath, but the other had heard him regardless.

"What?" The blonde asked amused, "What are _you_ gonna do to me?"

"You've no idea," Merlin mumbled, too quiet for the other to hear.

"Speak up!" The blonde demanded.

Merlin repeated, only a bit louder, just that Arthur heard it, "You've no idea."

"Oh, be my guest, come on!" The blonde knight goaded. Merlin became angry. But he knew it would only lead to much trouble if he were to give in to his sudden desire to smack the blonde knight. Merlin looked him up and down, realising that he would not be able to fight him physically, and he didn't want to end up with a lethal injury. But the blonde kept provoking him, "Come on! Come _on_!" And Merlin soon did not see reason as he had before. Foolishly, really, rather spectacularly stupidly, Merlin attempted to throw a punch at the blonde, who immediately caught his arm and twisted it behind his back rather painfully. He leaned in and growled into Merlin's ear, "You'll go to jail for that." And he said so rather smugly.

"Who're you? The king?" Merlin muttered, but the blonde heard him just fine.

"No," the blonde said, pushing Merlin painfully to his knees, "I'm his son. Arthur."

Merlin was spared any more chances to talk and be stupid, for he was thrown into jail, as promised, and thrown into it rather roughly. Not enjoyable, he decided, as he laid on the floor of his cell. It smelled horrible and he wondered if the cells were ever cleaned at all. Then he realised, no, of course not, for why would they? He sighed and cowered into the corner that was furthest away from the iron bars holding him in. He could just get out of there if he really wanted to, and perhaps he did want to go, as it was far too uncomfortable, but he knew that it would alert the guards and get him into even more trouble.

Merlin sighed. He should really know by now when to go away from a conversation. He put his head on his knees and tried his best to ignore the horrible stench that haunted the cells. How could the guards stand the stench here? Was this perhaps how they wanted to scare off criminals from committing crimes again? With the stench? It was foul enough to scare off a wolf, Merlin mused and amused himself with the thought of a wolf running in fright from the stench of Camelot's dungeons. An amusing thought, truly, it was, but it could only entertain him for so long before he grew bored. There was nothing to do but wallow in his thoughts.

He mumbled a truth that rewarded him with a fruit he was sure someone once told him was an apricot, but a rather small one so it fit into his mouth easily. He ate it quickly, relishing in the sweetness of the juice, and discreetly spat the apricot kernel out once he was done. He mumbled another truth and was rewarded with an herb that he knew would put him to sleep easily, without any dreams, if he were to chew it. And so he did, to make more time pass quicker. He felt his eyelids grow heavier by the second, and soon, he drifted off to sleep.

When he woke, it was early morning, but he wasn't woken by sunlight, but by something calling his name in a low but loud whisper. He jerked awake at the sound, unsure if he hadn't just dreamt it, but that shouldn't be possible with the herb he chewed to fall asleep. He blinked, getting used to the light in the cell, little as it was, and strained his ears to catch the sound again. He sat there quietly, unmoving, for about a minute, before he heard it again.

"Merlin..." Came the dark voice again, but it didn't sound like it came from anywhere. It sounded like it was directly in his head, and that sensation was the weirdest one he had ever felt, including the tarantula incident. Merlin's eyes widened and he looked around. No, there was no one else in his cell. He got up and to the bars keeping him in. He saw the guards, but they weren't paying attention to him, and he wasn't sure why any of them would know his name, much less whisper it ominously. He was also rather sure that the voice was far too close to have come from the guards. It had been in his head. This worried him for multiple reasons, but most of all it terrified him for the notion of becoming insane. Then, he heard it again. "Merlin..." By now, Merlin was terrified, but this time, the voice sounded like it was actually coming from somewhere, namely from below. Merlin got down onto the floor, to try and figure out why there was something in or under the floor. Just at that moment, the door to his cell opened and Gaius hurried inside, and Merlin jumped up, looking like a startled deer. Gaius looked very angry with him and Merlin immediately felt horrible because of it.

"Merlin! You never cease to amaze me! The one thing someone like you should do is keep your head down, and what do you do?" Gaius yelled at him and Merlin shrunk in on himself at the scolding.

"'m sorry," he mumbled, rewarded with a small coin for his truth that he stashed into his right cheek.

"You're lucky. I managed to pull a few strings to get you released," Gaius said, this had Merlin grin in relief.

"Oh, thank you, Gaius!" He spoke, though quietly, he hoped his tone conveyed his gratitude. "I won't forget this."

"There is... a small price to pay," Gaius said then and Merlin's stomach dropped.

A price to pay, indeed, for he found himself in the stocks soon after, foul fruit and vegetables being thrown at him. Oh, the stench of it! Nearly as bad as Camelot's dungeons! He knew for sure he would not be getting that stench out of his clothes or out of his hair for a good while, at least not without some work. Perhaps he could speak some truths to get nice smelling fruits, crush them, and try to cover up the stench of the foul fruit with the sweet aroma of the exotic fruit. Or maybe such would result only in a sweetly foul stench following him around. He would have to try it later, but now his mind was a bit preoccupied to think about it much, and instead he focused on closing his eyes in time when a foul tomato was particularly well-aimed and heading for his face, hitting him full force. He almost wanted to congratulate the child for its good aim, but it had run off to get more foul vegetables along with its friends.

He spat out some of the foul stuff that had landed on his mouth when he was approached by a very pretty lady with dark skin, wearing a red hooded cloak and a dress which colour seemed a bit faded.

"I'm Guinevere," she introduced herself, "But most people call me Gwen. I'm the Lady Morgana's maid."

"I'm... Merlin," Merlin mumbled with a smile and awkwardly moved his hand to offer it in greeting, though it didn't get far, what with being stuck in the stocks, but Gwen still took it and shook it with an amused smile on her lips, "But most... call me 'idiot'." It wasn't a big enough lie to warrant much of a punishment, only a fly manifested and he spat it out, sure that Gwen would think it was some leftover from the fruit or vegetables he'd been pelted with.

"No, I, uh, I saw what you did! And I thought you were really brave! Though, it was good you walked away, he would have beat you." Gwen said and her words would have hurt Merlin had they not been true to some extent.

"Brave? 'twas stupid," Merlin mumbled, "Coulda beat him." A small coin manifested in his mouth, a silver one, and he pushed it into his right cheek, feeling offended at the significance the truth apparently held, though he had said two at that moment.

"Sorry?" Gwen asked, not having heard Merlin because of his mumbling.

"I coulda beat him," mumbled Merlin, louder this time, another such coin manifesting, and he pushed that one into the same cheek as the other.

"You think? Because you don't exactly look like these big, muscly type of fellows..." Gwen said, unsure, and this comment did hurt Merlin a little, or at least the tiny, half-dead, half-undead shrivelling piece of his pride.

"Thanks...?" he mumbled and Gwen heard the small amount of hurt in his voice and quickly made to correct herself.

"Oh, no! I'm sure you're stronger than you look! It's just that, well, um, Arthur's just one of these real rough, tough, save-the-world kind of man and well... you don't look like that..."

Merlin blinked, then beckoned her closer. "I'm in disguise," he muttered. For a moment, she was stunned, then she laughed, unaware of the truth in Merlin's words that manifested into a jewel. She then said something else about other people thinking the same as her, that what he did was good, and that made Merlin feel a bit better, but then the children returned with more foul fruit and he excused himself with a mumble of "Fans're awaiting me."

Later, when he was sitting with Gaius and eating dinner with him, chatting about his magic and his curse, he found he got more comfortable talking, something that he usually was not, except with his mother and with Will. He freely let the rewards fall from his mouth as they talked, and while Gaius seemed a bit disturbed, he made no comment as the jewels fell from Merlin's mouth, for which Merlin was grateful. They then grew quiet for some time until shortly before Merlin finished eating.

Gaius looked at him, deep in thought for a bit, before looking down at his own plate again and scratching the last bit of the soup into one spot so that he can access it more easily.

"What did your mother say to you about your... gifts?" Gaius asked as he looked up again from the soup. Merlin blinked and nodded.

"That I'm special," Merlin smiled sheepishly, a silver coin dropping from his mouth. His smile brightened at the fact his curse thought this a truth significant enough to warrant silver.

"Yes," said Gaius, picking up the silver coin, "The likes of which have never been seen before."

"I just wish this curse wasn't part of it," Merlin sighed, earning himself a copper coin, which he quietly pocketed to add to his ever-growing collection. He only ever pocketed the copper coins, as any of the silver, or gods forbid the gold coins, would cause too much suspicion in his possession.

"That's not quite what I meant," Gaius shook his head and Merlin blinked in confusion.

"What do you mean?" He asked, putting his spoon down into the bowl, somewhat intrigued.

"Magic, traditionally, is done with spells, words, incantations, none of which I saw you doing. What you did was something more natural, an instinct, elemental even. You're a question that has never been asked before, certainly the answer will be even more baffling than yourself," Gaius explained.

"Did... did you ever study magic?" Merlin then asked, the thought having just come to him, and he felt curious now and eager to learn more about Gaius' past. Gaius shook his head, but that wasn't an answer to Merlin's question.

"The King banned magic twenty years ago," he explained, "People used it for the wrong reasons, evil reasons, and it threw all order into chaos. And so Uther made it his mission to destroy it. Even the dragons, except one, which he kept as an example. He imprisoned it where no one can free it."

Merlin was aghast and shocked at what he heard. A dragon made an example and imprisoned, the very notion had him feel nauseous.

"Why would..." He couldn't quite form words in his state of shock, so he elected to remain quiet.

"Ah," Gaius remembered, "you have to deliver this," he gave Merlin a small bottle with a creamy yellow liquid in it, "to the Lady Helen — she needs it for her voice."

Merlin nodded, grabbed the small bottle and abandoned the rest of his meal — he had lost his appetite anyway. 

 

When he arrived in Lady Helen's chambers, forgetting to knock, he found them empty of the Lady in question, and found in her stead an odd-looking bundle of straw, meant to represent a person. Merlin picked it up after placing the small bottle onto the desk in front of the partially covered mirror attached to it, and he inspected the bundle of straw. He found it odd that a woman of nobility would have such a thing, even if she had an affinity for dolls, wouldn't she insist on expensive ones instead of a bundle of straw? Perhaps, though, Merlin thought, this doll had been the Lady's for a long time, and she kept it for sentimental reasons. Good luck perhaps? Merlin remembered he had a similar looking doll once, when he was a child, until it fell apart in one of his games with Will. Never mind. He placed the doll back down onto the table and moved his attention to an odd looking book just beside it, partially covered by some piece of cloth. He picked it up, noting the loose pages and the string binding it together. He felt something from the book, something it was just exuding... magic? Was that right? Was that magic which he felt from the book?

Before he had time to contemplate this further, he heard the door to the chambers open and he quickly put the book down, covering it with the cloth, turning around rapidly. Lady Helen stood there, looking at him in confusion, and dread, the latter had Merlin somewhat confused.

"What are you doing in my chambers?" She asked accusingly and Merlin stammered for a moment, before he remembered the bottle Gaius had him deliver. He grabbed it from the table and handed it over to the Lady Helen.

"Gaius asked me to deliver this," Merlin mumbled, copper coins manifesting in his mouth, which he pushed into his cheek.

"I didn't quite catch that," Lady Helen spoke impatiently and Merlin nodded.

He repeated himself a bit louder, but it was still a mumble, though this time, Lady Helen seemed to have understood him, taking the bottle she was handed. Merlin was about to leave, but Lady Helen grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"You touched my things," she growled and Merlin felt the threat in her voice in his bones. He froze on the spot in her grip on his arm.

"'m sorry," he mumbled, opting for a version of the truth that would have him neither rewarded nor punished, because the truth in this case would be a matter of perspective, "I saw the doll... reminded me of... I had one as a child... 'm sorry..."

Funnily enough, this had Lady Helen's features soften into something akin to a smile, though it was far to faint to be called such, and she let go of Merlin's arm. He dismissed himself and practically ran out of the chamber.

 

He had one more altercation with Arthur before things truly became interesting. He had met Arthur in the town, and he wished he hadn't, for the prat had been as much of a bully as he had been the first time around, but this time he had been even more arrogant and smug and had asked Merlin how his knee-walking was coming along. Oh, how much Merlin had wanted to punch him for it, to push him back and undo him with but a thought, but he couldn't, at least not out here in the open. He had first wanted to just ignore Arthur, but the man's mocking and smug and arrogant tone had ignited some fury in Merlin that he had never really known before, or rather, it was a desire to prove the prat wrong.

He had thrown some quips at him, though he had still muttered them and Arthur had made a show out of telling him to speak up, which had only added to the humiliation Merlin was feeling.

And so, he had decided to use his magic, though subtly so, and he had had a pretty good chance at beating Arthur, has he not become distracted at Gaius' disapproving glare from the crowd of onlookers.

He had been spared the dungeons, oddly enough, because Arthur had said something about there being something about Merlin, but the tone in which he had said it, it had made a shudder rush down Merlin's spine. He was then confused at his own feelings, but his confusion had to make way for shame as he and Gaius returned to the physician's chambers and Gaius yelled at him about his magic.

Merlin lamented the fact that he didn't know what else he would be without his magic, asking if he was a monster, for his magic and for his curse, and at the end of his rant he broke down crying in Gaius' arms, who then regretted having yelled at Merlin like that, even though what Merlin had done had been extremely stupid. But Merlin wouldn't calm down, not until later that night, and he only fell asleep after Gaius had given him a draught for it.

But he would not slumber for long, for something entered his dreams unbidden, calling out his name in a low whisper. He startled awake in a cold sweat and looked and turned to see who had called him. It was the middle of the night, and Gaius was fast asleep in the other room, Merlin could hear the light snoring, and he wondered once more if he was going insane and began hearing things that weren't there.

 _Merlin_. There is was again! He scrambled out of bed. This time he was sure the voice had come from somewhere, not just from inside his head. Against all his better judgement, telling him it would be a bad idea to follow the mysterious, creepy voice that called out to him, he followed it. He walked straight through the courtyard, hearing it call out to him yet again, and he knew it would be somewhere close. He followed the voice to the dungeons, in front of which sat two guards playing dice. He distracted them by using his magic to throw their dice the other direction, and ran past them without them noticing a thing. He continued downwards, grabbing a torch and lighting it with magic when there was nothing and no one else and it became darker and darker the further he descended, following the voice. He grew more nervous the closer he came, and he was sure he was coming closer, even though the voice did not become louder, he felt it, clearly, somehow. There was magic down here, something of magic calling to him, and he could not ignore the call.

 _Merlin!_ And there it was again. He hurried down the stairs, deeper into the dark cave and he ignored the nervous rumble in his stomach as he progressed. Finally, he stood at the edge of a cliff and could not find a way to go deeper. Curiously enough, after a creepy, rumbling laugh, the voice seemed to stop calling out to him and he tried to look around with the torch, but to no avail.

"Who... who are you! Where are you!" He shouted, despite himself.

Suddenly! something swooshed from the back of the cave and dashed in Merlin's direction. Something big, something huge, something with scales and wings and Merlin nearly fell back as it landed on the rock formation roughly twenty metres away from the edge of the cliff. It was a dragon. Merlin gasped at the sheer size of it and his heart was seized by both fear and awe, mingling together in an odd and terrifying dance that had him breathing rapidly and had his heart beating so loudly against his chest that he could barely hear the dragon's voice when it spoke — the same voice that had been calling out to him!

"Here I am." The dragon spoke this with a deep rumbling of the voice that had Merlin shudder most unpleasantly. Merlin waited for the dragon to do something, whether it was attacking him or something else didn't really matter, but the longer Merlin regarded the dragon, waiting for it to do something, the more his curiosity seemed to win against his fear, and he approached the edge again, coming closer to the dragon, who seemed somewhat amused as it regarded him with a curious look as well. Then the dragon spoke once more, "How small you are, and how great is your destiny. And the curse you carry as burden on your shoulders as well."

Merlin stared in awe. A destiny? "What do you mean? Destiny?" He said, just loud enough for the dragon to hear it.

"Your mumbling only makes you seem smaller, Merlin. But your gift has been given to you for a reason." These words had Merling in awe. So there is a reason for his magic! If there was a reason for his magic, he hoped there was also a reason for his curse persisting. The dragon continued, "Arthur is the Once and Future King, and he will unite the land of Albion. But he will face threats, many of them, both from friend and foe alike."

"What... what has this to do with me?" Merlin asked meekly.

"Everything!" The dragon bellowed, startling Merlin to stumble backwards a few steps. "He will not succeed without you. Albion will never exist without you."

Merlin couldn't believe it. He refused to. It was ludicrous! "You've got this wrong, I'm sure. I can't help anyone with this curse..." Merlin spoke with more confidence than usual, which was humorous, seeing as he was defying a dragon's words! He was even more defeated when a spider appeared in his mouth and he spat it out.

"There is no right or wrong. Only what is and what is not. Your curse will not hinder you from achieving your shared destiny." The dragon looked amused at witnessing the curse.

Merlin scoffs and growls with his usual mumble, "Seriously, if anyone wants to kill him, go ahead, I'll even give them a helping hand." Curiously, he was neither rewarded, nor punished for it. Or perhaps such was not so curious after all, as Merlin himself was unsure of the truth of his words at the moment.

The dragon chuckles in amusement. "No one can choose their destiny. And we cannot escape it, either. Much like your curse, Merlin, there is no way to avoid the effect. Neither the reward for fulfilling it, or the punishment for failing it."

"But- no, this Arthur, he's an idiot, arrogant- a prat!" Merlin exclaimed, two silver coins falling from his mouth as he had not mumbled well enough.

"Perhaps, then, it is your destiny to change that, Merlin," the dragon said forebodingly and spread its wings before Merlin could say anything in response to it, and it took to the air swiftly, the chains that bind it rattling away as they were also dragged upwards to where the dragon was flying. Merlin would have called out after it, but he was afraid that someone might hear him down here, conversing with the dragon, and find out what he really is, and he did not want that.

Merlin turned on his heel, rushing up the stairs and out of the caves, rushing past the guards who were too invested in their game of dice to notice him, and he ran back to his rooms. The adrenaline was still pumping in his veins and his face was flushed, his breathing uneven and his head dizzy, both from running and from the happy notion that his magic had a purpose! Perhaps his curse had one as well. The dragon had said his curse would not hinder him from achieving his destiny. Merlin just wondered if it would be of any help, too. Somehow, he doubted it, but perhaps he would be surprised.

 

Next morning, Gaius woke him up rather rudely, saying something about the state of his room, but Merlin was far too sleepy to actually process what was coming out of Gaius' mouth, and his own, which resulted in a frog coming out of his mouth and jumping onto his chest. Gaius gave him an unimpressed look at the now obvious lie he must have told, and told Merlin to clean up without magic, and to deliver a sleeping draught to the Lady Morgana, the King's Ward, for she had been suffering from nightmares recently.

Merlin did as he was told, first cleaning up a bit, by which is meant he put everything out of sight under his bed and not actually away to where it would belong, and he hurried away to deliver the draught.

He caught the Lady Morgana in an embarrassing moment, nearly naked, and turned around and covered his eyes for good measure.

"Goodness!" Lady Morgana exclaimed, covering herself.

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled and reached for the table, placing the sleeping draught on it. "Sleeping draught," he mumbled, "Gaius sent me." The reward was something small to eat, a nut, and he swallowed it down quickly.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that. Oh, you can turn around, I'm decent," Lady Morgana said with a smile. Merlin chanced a look around, and Lady Morgana was indeed dressed, though it looked loose, as though the laces weren't properly tied yet. Of course, Merlin figured, she hadn't anyone to help with that.

"Sleeping draught," Merling repeated, still mumbling, but louder this time, "Gaius sent me." Another nut and he swallowed that down just like the other, not even bothering to bit down on it. He would surely have stomach pains later, but he had to escape the situation as soon as possible and put as little attention on himself as possible, at which he was failing, currently.

Lady Morgana inspected the bottle Merlin had placed on the table, then looked at Merlin, who looked about ready to bolt.

"Who are you?" She asked curiously, looking Merlin up and down, noting how thin he looked, the big ears, the high and defined cheekbones.

"Merlin," he answered, rewarded with a copper coin again. He should really find somewhere to put them later, he shouldn't just keep them in his pockets, or they may be heard as he would walk by, jangling in his pockets. That wouldn't do. He pushed the copper coins into his right cheek, unnoticed, of course.

"I don't think I've seen you around before, Merlin. Are you a servant? Ah, no, I think Gaius mentioned you to me. You're his ward?" Morgana continued her questioning, but instead of answering verbally, Merlin just nodded his head. "You aren't very talkative, are you, Merlin?" This time Merlin shook his head no, which had Morgana chuckle. "Very well, then, I won't keep you-"

And before those words had even left her mouth, Merlin dashed out of the room as if it were on fire. Morgana watched him leave with a curious but amused look on her face. There was something about this Merlin, this ward of Gaius', she just couldn't put her finger on it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Gwen entered her chambers.

"Ah, Gwen, you just missed Gaius' ward. Merlin, I think his name was," said Morgana with a smile, though she was surprised as she saw recognition flashing in Gwen's. "Have you met him?"

"Oh, yes, I have. He was in the stocks when I introduced myself," Gwen answered, approaching Morgana to help with the lacing of her dress. Morgana raised a brow in surprise at the news.

"In the stocks? What for?" She asked.

"He stood up against Arthur, rather bravely, too," answered Gwen and Morgana laughed in delight.

"Oh, I think I might already like him if such is the case! Arthur deserves to be taken down a notch. I just hope poor Merlin didn't suffer too much because of it."

 

Later that evening, Gaius told Merlin that he would take him to the celebration feast, at which the Lady Helen would sing for the court. While Merlin didn't care much for crowds, he really wanted to go to this feast, for some reason that even he did not know, but he really wanted to go. It would still be for work, Gaius had informed him, and not for pleasure, but Merlin had retorted he'll do his best to find pleasure in the work then, at which Gaius had laughed approvingly.

So now here they were, in the great hall, standing to the side and watching the nobles chatter excitedly. Merlin's mouth couldn't help but water at the smell of the food, and he muttered a small truth to himself that rewarded him with a strawberry that quenched his appetite a bit, though not by all too much. Another such truth muttered rewarded him with a small seedless apricot, and he was happy. He noticed Prince Arthur laughing with a group of knights, before said prince seemed to feel Merlin staring and turned around. Briefly, they made eye-contact, and there was something in those eyes that had Merlin freeze up and his blood rush in his hears, before the prince's attention was drawn away rapidly by the awed gasps of the knights surrounding him, because at that moment, Lady Morgana had entered the hall, and drew all eyes and attention towards and on her, and even Merlin's eyes widened, for she looked absolutely stunning in the dress she had chosen. Morgana noticed Merlin, then noticed how Arthur noticed her notice Merlin, and she made a point to smile more brightly at Merlin than anyone else and give him a polite and good-natured nod, making sure Arthur saw her doing this.

Arthur did notice this, and once Morgana was close enough, he hissed at her, "What on earth are you doing?"

Morgana feigned ignorance and surprise at his rudeness, "Why, I have no idea what you mean, Arthur. I was simply being charming with people, unlike yourself."

"You must have heard about it- that boy openly insulted and assaulted me," Arthur growled with a false smile so that no one would know how rude he was being by simply looking.

"Well," said Morgana, her false smile more polished than Arthur's could ever be, "I think you well deserved that for tormenting the servants. I've been told all about what the boy said to you, and I find that I may like him for what he did."

"You can't be serious! Look at him, he's an insolent idiot!" Arthur growled and discreetly pointed at Merlin, who was in muttering conversation with Gwen, who spoke at normal volume. "He can't even separate his teeth long enough for words to come out!"

"Makes him a lot better than yourself, he won't spew as much nonsense as you," Morgana asserted with a smirk. Arthur growled.

"Oh, and how would you know that?" Arthur asked challengingly. "He spewed a right lot of nonsense at me!"

"It just so happens I had a little chat with him earlier today, as he brought me my draught," Morgana smiled triumphantly, but Arthur was too busy being confused to get mad properly.

"Why would he do that? He's not a servant, he didn't even know who _I was_!" Arthur scoffed, though the confusion was obvious on his face. He glanced over at Merlin, who briefly looked up, but then pointedly looked away when their gazes met.

"No, but he is Gaius' ward." Morgana smirked as she said this, especially as Arthur's look of confusion turned into one of disbelief.

"No way," he groaned.

"Gaius is already putting him to work, it seems. If all turns out well we might have a physicians apprentice yet. Learning from Gaius is the best one could be doing, you know. Who knows, he might even become Court Physician in the future." All of what Morgana said seemed to rile Arthur up for some reason, and Morgana took great delight in tormenting him. Then she turned a bit more serious. "I don't see why you're so riled up about it. He hasn't done you any harm, has he?" Morgana seriously doubted that, and she made sure Arthur felt her doubt and saw it too in her raised brow.

"He humiliated me!" Arthur growled, incredulously. Morgana's brow raised even higher, though she would not be able to rival Gaius' brow anytime soon. She had a hard time believing Arthur.

"Somehow," she began and her lips pulled up into a mischievous smirk, "I believe there is something else at play here with you."

Arthur looked at her, honestly confused. "What are you on about this time?"

Morgana said nothing more, but her gaze flickered to Merlin, and Arthur's gaze followed hers, to see what she was looking at now, and Merlin was talking with Gwen, laughing at something she had said. It was the first time Arthur had seen Merlin with a smile, no less his mouth parted enough to let out a laugh that he could faintly hear even where he stood. Seeing that seemed strange to Arthur, but not the kind of strange of something he would rather avoid. Strangely, it felt like something very precious, something that people would look at, and collectively decide must be preserved for everyone to witness and enjoy. His eyes widened slightly as he processed the thought. Morgana turned her gaze to him and, as she saw what Arthur felt — because he was a very poor actor and could only keep a neutral face in the middle of a battle — she smirked at him knowingly.

Arthur caught her gaze and frowned at her smirk, only questions on his mind. But Morgana just chuckled mischievously at him, before taking her seat. Arthur walked to his own seat, mulling over what had just happened, and perhaps the implications of it.

It was then time for the feast to begin, or very nearly, as King Uther entered the hall and approached the table behind which he would be sitting for the feast. He stood in front of it first, announcing both the twenty years of prosperity, which was the reason for the celebration, and announcing also the Lady Helen of Mora, at which the hall applauded and the King sat down

Lady Helen stood upon the stage, waiting until silence settled over her audience and she righted her gown. Then she looked up, let a moment of silence pass to build the anticipation of her audience, and she began to sing.

It was a beautiful melody, carried by an even more beautiful voice. Merlin blinked in surprise, and then suddenly, things felt very, very wrong. He saw people nodding off and falling asleep and, in a panic, he covered his ears. Lady Helen stepped down from the platform that was her stage and approached the king. Merlin was panicked and looked around, when Lady Helen pulled out a dagger out of her dress, Merlin noticed she stood right under the chandelier, and, with his magic, he cut the rope, right as her voice crescendoed and she was about to throw the dagger.

The chandelier crashed on her and she shrieked. Merlin's blood froze in his veins.

Her spell upon the court was broken the moment she ceased to sing, and slowly, but surely, the people woke up to see the witch, crushed by the chandelier. Confused and shocked murmurs swam over the hall. Both the king and the prince stood up to gain a better view of the seemingly dead woman on the floor. No, she was not dead. Her enchantment upon herself was broken as well, and it was not Lady Helen who had enchanted the court, but it was the woman whose son Uther had executed, glaring up at him with all the fury of a grieving mother. She struggled up, the chandelier heavy on her back, and with her last powers, she threw the dagger at the prince.

In a panic, Merlin slowed time, much as he had on his first day in Camelot to soften Gaius' fall. He ran over to the prince, knowing that the spell won't last much longer, and he dragged him out of the way violently, and the dagger pierced the chair where Arthur's heart would have been. They fell to the floor, and Arthur's breath was caught in his throat, his blood rushing loudly in his ears as he stared at the chair and the dagger that would have killed him had it not been for Merlin. He was filled with gratitude, but also confusion beyond belief, for he had watched Merlin walk to the far right side of the hall, much too far away to have pulled him aside in time, but, alas, he had done it. This boy who had insulted and assaulted him upon their first meeting, who hadn't even known him at that point, had just now saved his life. 

The witch breathed her last breath and collapsed under the weight of the chandelier, finally dead, and Merlin scrambled to his feet, whereas Arthur stood up impossibly calmly, staring at the dead witch in disbelief. King Uther approached Merlin, awe and gratitude displayed openly on his face, along with the shock of what had happened, and for a moment Merlin feared the man had seen him use magic and would have him executed any moment, but such was not the case.

"You saved my son's life!" The King exclaimed and the people around them gawked in awe and shock. "A debt, surely, must be repaid."

Merlin shook his head frantically and took a step back and away from the two royals in front of him. His cheeks suddenly grew hot at the anxiety he felt. He tried to stammer, "No," but managed little more than stumbling over the first letter.

"Don't be modest, boy, you saved my son's life and you shall be rewarded for it! Such an act must be rewarded with something quite special," said Uther, but Merlin shuddered at the word 'reward', as he had no positive association with the term because of his curse, much as that was never intended to happen.

"Y-you don't- don't have-"

"Absolutely!" The King insisted. "You will be rewarded a position in the royal household." At this, Merlin perked up in surprise. "You shall be Prince Arthur's manservant."

Merlin's eyes widened as his anxiety took ahold of him. He barely heard the prince's indignant exclamation of, "Father!" over the rushing of blood in his ears as he began to tremble lightly. How would he hide his magic now? Never mind his magic, how would he hide his curse?! Working for the prince will likely require him to speak, perhaps even speak lies, even if only to please him, and how would he hide the punishments if that were the case? How would he hide the rewards? If the prince caught him spitting out gold coins, he would surely accuse Merlin of theft! Stealing from the prince is treason! Merlin would be executed, and not even for his magic! Gods, what did he get himself into?!

His anxious thoughts were so loud, he couldn't even hear the applause at what he had done, and, frankly, he didn't want to. He just wanted to go, hide in his room, under the blanket, and magic himself invisible so no one would bother him for the rest of his miserable life.

He didn't even notice Arthur's odd stare in his direction, or later Gaius guiding him back into his room, where Merlin was sure Gaius would yell at him, but the man saw the state Merlin was in and wisely elected not to disturb him until his mind had cleared. It took Merlin two full hours to drag himself out of his cloud of anxiety, after which he was positively exhausted and nearly fell asleep on the small desk in his room.

He was surprised, and startled, when Gaius entered his room to check up on him.

"Ah," Gaius said as he clearly noticed that Merlin's eyes had regained focus, "Good, you've escaped your daze. You're quite the hero, you know."

Merlin smiled weakly. Yes, perhaps he was. "Hard to believe," he said and it was clear he meant so much more than just saving Arthur's life with magic.

"Not exactly. I knew since the day I met you," Gaius smiled kindly, referring to when Merlin had saved Gaius. "Perhaps..."

"Hm?"

"Perhaps this is the purpose you sought for your magic," Gaius said and Merlin considered this for a moment, the dragon's words echoing in his mind.

"My destiny," Merlin muttered, repeating the dragon's words unconsciously.

"Yes, perhaps," Gaius smiled and this was when Merlin noticed the red cloth Gaius was carrying, which obviously held something.

"Wha's that?" Merlin asked in his usual mumble, though his voice was oddly hoarse for some reason.

"This was once given to me when I was around your age. Though," Gaius looked nostalgic, then fond as he lifted the cloth, revealing a book underneath that was quite obviously a book of magic, "I suppose it will be of more use to you than it ever was to me."

Merlin gasped as he was handed the book. He opened it, carefully as he noticed its age, and skimmed over the pages for a moment before a grin broke out on his face and he set it aside to jump up and hug Gaius.

"Thank you!" He exclaimed and his sudden cheerfulness seemed to be contagious, for Gaius smiled nearly as brightly as Merlin as he hugged the younger back.

"Now, you should hide it well and keep it out of sight. There should be a loose floorboard just beside the bed. But now, you should really rest-"

Just as Merlin had pulled away from the hug to put the book away for later — because he was far too exhausted to read it now, no matter how much he wanted to, and he wanted to badly — someone opened the door to Gaius' chambers, sticking their head inside.

"Merlin! Prince Arthur wants you right away!" The man called and Merlin took in a large — and a somewhat calming — breath, as he mentally prepared himself

"It seems your destiny is calling you," Gaius joked and Merlin let out a laugh, nearly humourless, as he shrugged his shoulders and went to do his forced-upon duty.

 

It wasn't long at all until Merlin decided he could not do this. It wasn't even his third day and the prince — the prat — seemed to take delight in driving Merlin crazy, trying to get a rise out of him with teasing, mocking, insults, even a bloody shoe was thrown at his head! All in an effort to get Merlin to speak, or rather mutter, more than a few, vague words. If you were a guard standing in front of the prince's chambers, you would hear such delightful things as:

"Can't you speak up!"

"I must have gone deaf or why can't I hear a word you're saying!"

"A mouse is louder than you, Merlin!"

"Your speech reflects you, Merlin, stupid and simple."

"Is it really that difficult to speak more than six words at a time?"

And other such things that actually do hurt Merlin, deeply, because his habit, because of the curse, had long since his childhood become a point of self-consciousness and self-hate for him, and a perfect target for the mean children in his village to mock him for. It was a weak point in his armour, but he would not let the prat see that, never.

That promise to himself, however, became increasingly more difficult the more days passed, and the more the insults got to him.

It was evening and Merlin opened the doors to the prince's chamber, as quietly as he good, not wanting to disturb the prince, because that would only end up with something being thrown at Merlin, being an insult, or a shoe, or both. He wasn't in the mood for things to be thrown at him, so he hushed inside and closed the door behind him just as quietly, balancing the tray with food on his left hand. Arthur sat at the desk in the corner, furiously writing something that Merlin could only assume was an attempt at a speech. He rolled his eyes and walked over to the desk, tray now firmly in both his hands, so he wouldn't drop it by accident like last time. When he arrived at the desk, he placed the tray right next to Arthur, who was startled and jumped up, grabbing his the hilt of his sword, before realising it was just Merlin.

Merlin still wore that damn smirk and Arthur glared at him. "You announce your presence when you enter a room, Merlin!"

Merlin mumbled something under his breath and Arthur groans in annoyance, "Speak up, dammit!"

"Sorry," Merlin mumbled a bit louder, but still too quiet for Arthur to hear.

"I said: Speak. Up!" Arthur yelled and stood up suddenly from his chair, and despite Merlin being taller than Arthur, the prince was far more intimidating this way.

"Sorry," Merlin growls out through gritted teeth.

"Gods damn it, Merlin, did you glue your teeth together again? Need I pry them open?" Arthur took a threatening step towards Merlin. Merlin stumbled back, but, clumsy as he was, fell over himself and onto the floor. Arthur sneered at him before he sat back down. "Honestly, sometimes I wonder just how stupid you are."

Merlin had had it. He scrambled up from the floor and dashed out of the room, tears welling up in his eyes and his blood rushing in his ears. He didn't even notice the prince calling after him indignantly, though not getting up to follow him. Merlin ran, though he didn't know where he was going, until he crashed into someone, crashing to the floor while the other person remained standing where they were. He scrambled to his feet yet again and turned around, an apology ready on his lips, but it died the moment he saw who he had run into. He hadn't even noticed he had begun crying.

The Lady Morgana.

Who was looking at him not with anger or contempt, but actual and real concern.

"Merlin?" She asked, and Merlin could cry at how concerned she sounded, "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Arthur," he mumbled with a trembling voice, and now Lady Morgana looked angry. A copper coin manifested in his mouth and he stuffed it in his right cheek, as always.

"That idiot, what did he do this time?" Lady Morgana sneered, the very thought of Arthur's unacceptable behaviour towards Merlin angering her to the core. "Did he insult you again?"

Merlin nodded but refrained from actually saying it out loud. Lady Morgana was far more patient with him and his mumblings and lack of verbal answers. Her gaze turned from angry at Arthur to pity for Merlin and she gently grasped him by the upper arm and guided him back to her chambers. It was then that Merlin wondered why Morgana was even out and about this late, but he was far too tired to say anything, much less protest her help.

Morgana had helped him five times since he became Arthur's manservant, because she agreed with him that Arthur could be absolutely awful, especially to his servants, and Merlin is very grateful for her help. He didn't want Gaius to see him like this, so easily made to cry, but his anxieties only overtook him, and he really couldn't do anything about it. At least not alone, and Morgana proved to be a good friend, even after just such short a time, and she really wanted to help him.

"You need to stand up to him," she said and handed Merlin a goblet of watered down wine once they reached her chambers. She took a goblet for herself as well and sat down on the other chair in the room.

"I can't," Merlin mumbled and hid the copper coin reward in his right cheek.

"Then I shall for you. This has gone on for long enough, he will drive you into depression if this continues!" Morgana exclaimed a bit too loudly, and Merlin flinched.

"Please, don't," he mumbled, "He hates me enough as it is." He didn't say it, but the words 'he will hate me even more when he finds out I have riled you up against him' hang between them, heard though unspoken.

"Merlin, this can't go on like this. Someone needs to tell him off. I can see you don't want me to do anything, but I can't sit idly by and watch him hurt you like this while you've done nothing to deserve it."

A question popped up in Merlin's mind. "Why am I so special?" He asked. What he meant was, why would Morgana help him while before she allowed Arthur to bully his servants?

"Because he's going to keep you. You've been in his employ for nearly two weeks now, and everyone in the castle knows that Arthur fires his servants by the weekly. For some reason, he decided to keep you for longer, and no servant had to suffer under him for longer than a week. But if no one does anything about his behaviour, you will suffer under him for much, much longer." She sighed then and Merlin emptied his goblet, utterly exhausted, emotionally. "Sleep in my antechamber again, the bed should be more comfortable than yours. You know Gwen doesn't sleep there, she has her own home in the town."

"Wh-why?" Merlin stuttered. He was still trembling from his anxiety overtaking him earlier.

"You look exhausted, Merlin, and I can't send you back to Gaius in good conscience in this state. You will sleep." Morgana ordered gently and that had Merlin chuckle.

"Right, okay..." he muttered and slowly stumbled up from the chair and walked over to the antechamber, before disappearing through the door and shutting it behind himself.

Morgana waited a few minutes, sipping at her own goblet, before she set it down and exited her chambers for the second time that evening. This time, however, with a place in mind. She barged into Arthur's chambers without knocking, finding Arthur munching on an apple Merlin had brought him and reading over some report or other. The nonchalance of the sight in front of her had Morgana's blood boil. The idiot had no idea what consequences his actions brought!

"Morgana?" Arthur asked, confused at her visible anger, "What brings you here at this hour?"

"You know bloody well what brings me here!" Morgana growled and jabbed a finger into Arthur's chest, made extra painful by her long nails. "I just cannot believe you sometimes! It is one thing to bully a servant for the one week you keep them, but evidently you plan on keeping Merlin for longer than that, and your behaviour towards him is unacceptable!"

"What are you on about now? I am treating him no different than-"

"That is precisely my point!" Morgana didn't even let him finish. "You treat him just as horribly as every other servant you've been assigned! But the difference is that Merlin won't just stay the week, clearly, since you made no effort to fire him and nearly a fortnight has passed already!"

"What are you suggesting? That I ignore his insolence towards me?" Arthur snarled right back, now backing down in the slightest.

"Insolence?" Morgana laughed maliciously, "Tell me, Arthur, when was the last time Merlin properly _spoke_ to you? When he said anything even remotely insolent? Hm?"

Arthur was going to tell her, was all ready to lay out for her the list of instances in which the servant had been insolent to him, but, to his confusion and eventual horror, he could only name two times: namely, when they had first met, and the second time they had encountered each other. There had been no other such instance in which Merlin had said anything to insult him or question his authority, his clumsiness with trays notwithstanding. Morgana noticed how he came up empty and responded to it with a triumphant, yet still angry, smirk.

"That doesn't matter!" Arthur was quick to defend himself against whatever Morgana was going to say next. "He deserves it for his insolence and for his incompetence as a servant!"

"If he's so incompetent as you say, why have you not fired him already? Why have you allowed him to remain as your manservant for longer than any other servant you ever had? If he is so incompetent, why is he still your servant?" Morgana growls back.

"It is none of your business!" Arthur yelled.

"It is when your manservant becomes so distraught he can't see where he's running with tears streaming down his face!" Morgana yelled much louder than Arthur.

He was about to shout right back in anger, before he realised what she had said. "What?" He asked, uncharacteristically stricken by what she said. "What did you say?"

"He ran into me, crying, running from _you_ , Arthur! And this isn't even the first time this happened, but it is certainly the worst of it!" Morgana yelled at him, and suddenly, her words had the desired effect on Arthur. He felt horrible at that moment. Morgana noticed his look change from anger to guilt and she decided she must drive the point in deeper. "What were you expecting from this in the first place? Were you expecting he would fall over himself to serve you after the tenth such insult? That he would swoon at the honour of cleaning your boots after the fifteenth time you threw it at him?"

At this, Arthur felt the need to defend himself again, despite the sudden guilt he felt. "He can't even get a proper word out! I bet that's why he sent you to face me on the matter, the coward!"

"He didn't want me to confront you, you idiot! Gods, did it ever occur to you that that boy might have had something happen to him that he doesn't speak up? Something that happened in his childhood that instilled in him such a fear of speaking up that even in his adult years he doesn't?!" Morgana yelled. She wasn't entirely sure herself whether that theory was correct, but from the few things that she had gotten Merlin to tell her about his past, she was fairly sure her theory held true.

"What? Where is he now, anyway?" Arthur demanded, ignoring Morgana's argument completely.

"He is sleeping, I made sure of that," Morgana replied with a challenging snarl. She had put some of her sleeping draught into Merlin's watered down wine to ensure he would sleep soundly. "But that is not the point, Arthur. He was crying when he ran into me, utterly exhausted when I managed to calm him down. This cannot continue. This happened five times already, each time he's getting more distraught, at this rate, I don't know what'll happen to him, but your atrocious behaviour must stop!"

"Right," Arthur nodded and rolled his eyes, obviously not believing what Morgana told him, which pissed her off. It pissed her off so much that she grabbed Arthur by the collar and forcefully began dragging him towards the door. Arthur struggles and gets Morgana to let go of him. "What are you doing?!" He yelled at her, receiving a slap for his efforts. "What was that for?!"

"You will come with me and see for yourself what you've done to that poor boy in such a short time!" She demanded and Arthur huffed, but finally agrees to follow her, if she promised not to drag him again.

She promised nothing and lead him back to her chambers, which Arthur did not expect. He thought for sure that Morgana must have brought the boy back to Gaius' chambers, where the boy lived after all, and he was more than shocked to find her leading him to her chamber instead, and then to the antechamber that was meant to house the servant of the noble or royal living in the main chamber. She pointed at the door to the antechamber, and made it clear that she wanted Arthur to go into the antechamber. Grumbling to himself, Arthur opened the door, grabbing a candle from Morgana's nightstand and going inside.

Merlin was asleep on the bed inside, though he was not lying under the covers, but rather on top of them, curled in on himself and trembling. At first, Arthur thought he must be cold, but the room was warm, and Merlin was whimpering in his sleep, and, on a closer look, he was sweating. He looked back at Morgana, who urged him to look closer. Arthur fully entered the room and walked closer to Merlin, crouching down beside him and holding the candle closer to his face. Despite the obvious distress Merlin was in, his face looked ethereal in the dim light of the candle's flame. But then Arthur noticed what Morgana had told him about. Tear tracks, right down Merlin's face.

Merlin whimpered and mumbled something in his sleep. Arthur leaned closer to try and hear what Merlin was saying.

"Sire... Please." Arthur could finally hear it. He didn't move, didn't breathe, he didn't even dare to blink at this point. "Please... stop... sire..." Arthur's eyes widened at Merlin's words and he winced back.

He turned to Morgana and asked her, quietly, so not to wake Merlin, "How long?" He stood up and rushed to her. "How long?" He repeated.

"The nightmares? I don't know, but I wager he got them since he was made your manservant, so nearly a fortnight. Come here." She pulled Arthur out of the antechamber and into her chamber, closing the door so they could stop whispering. "Arthur, he thinks you hate him, that's why he didn't want me to talk to you about this. He doesn't want you to hate him more than you already do. That's what he told me. Now, answer me this, Arthur: do you hate him?"

Arthur didn't answer for a long moment. There was too much he had to think about. Merlin had nightmares because of him, that was a notion he had to wrap his head around. This had never happened before, and he wasn't entirely sure what to do about it. Then he looked at Morgana, as if trying to find answers in her judgemental mind. She looked at him expectantly, and, finally, he shook his head in answer. What he felt for Merlin wasn't hate. He knew what hate felt like, and this emotion he felt around Merlin certainly wasn't it. He wasn't sure what it was, but it wasn't hate, he knew that for sure.

"If you don't hate him, then I suggest toning it down a notch. You want to keep him for some reason, fine, but don't then go around treating him like he's disposable dirt beneath your shoes as you did with every other servant thus far. If you want to keep him, treat him better," Morgana implored him. Absentmindedly, Arthur nodded. He felt weird, hollow, somehow, and very, very guilty. He bid Morgana a good night, and then rushed out of her room, back to his own.

There was a lot he had to think about. Merlin would be none the wiser in the morning to come. Except, Arthur would make a point to add a more friendly tone to the insults, to take the edge off of them first, before he would drop them completely. He would have to subtly transition from one to the other, so that it wouldn't be too noticeable. He had the feeling that dropping it immediately wasn't the best course of action.

And so Merlin's days continued, until the first catastrophe hit them in the form of Sir Valiant. Arthur had mocked Merlin rather harshly, and had sacked him when it had looked like he had lied and thus humiliated Arthur, but in the end, after, thanks to Merlin, it had been revealed that Sir Valiant had indeed used magic on his shield to win the tournament, Arthur had conceded that there had been truth in Merlin's accusations and had given him back the position as his manservant, over which Merlin was gladder than he had anticipated. The mocking, after this, did not become less frequent, but less serious, and grew even less serious after the incidents with the plague, the poisoned chalice and Lancelot. It had also been incredibly difficult for Merlin to keep his curse hidden, and there had been several moments in which Arthur had almost caught him spit out a frog (he kept his lies little and white most of the time, as little as possible), or coins, and Merlin had nearly swallowed a tiny toad in fright when Arthur had nearly caught him in the process of spitting the creature out on the forest floor.

Then, after the incidents, and adventures, with the false physician, Sophia, the druid, the wraith, and Kanen (and Will's death that would haunt Merlin's nightmares for the next year to come), the mocking "Speak up," turned from actual mockery, to something far more affectionate. Merlin wasn't sure exactly when Arthur had begun saying these things so affectionately — and it looked like Arthur wasn't even aware of doing it himself — but he couldn't deny that he liked it. His nightmares stopped abruptly, instead having been replaced with nice dreams, some of them even involving Arthur some times.

And something even stranger began to happen. Because Merlin began to really like Arthur. Of course, he had developed an attachment to the man since he had believed Merlin when he had told him that Valiant was using magic, but he hadn't really felt affection for him until Arthur had followed Merlin on their way to Ealdor — or maybe he had but hadn't realised it until then. From that day onwards, Merlin truly swore to give his life to let this man live. From that day onwards, Merlin's loyalty could not be shaken off, even if he wanted to, which he most certainly did not.

But all came to a head, a rather ugly one at that, when they were both kidnapped by bandits while they were out hunting (just the two of them for some odd reason that Merlin couldn't even begin to hope to explain) and left to rot in one of the cells, somewhat guarded, but they never saw the guards, only heard them.

"I should never have brought you along," Arthur muttered to himself from his corner of the dark cells. Merlin was touched by the worry in Arthur's voice. He knew the reason Arthur wished Merlin wasn't here wasn't because of anything malicious, but that Arthur wished Merlin wasn't suffering the same fate as him. This last notion had Merlin chuckle under his breath. They were indeed suffering the same fate. The same destiny, even. The sun had set roughly ten minutes ago, leaving them in the dark, except for the dim moonlight.

"It'll be fine," Merlin mumbled, unsure whether or not what he spoke was the truth, and thus he was neither rewarded not punished, scooting closer to Arthur as the night had brought its friend coldness with it and he began to tremble lightly in the cold.

"No, it won't be!" Arthur insisted, "They won't bring us food, we'll starve before the week has passed!"

Merlin decided he wouldn't let that happen. "You don't know that... 's possible they'll feed us," he mumbled vaguely, his shoulder touching Arthur's, which the other allowed only because he was beginning to grow cold as well, especially with the cold wall he was leaning against.

Arthur scoffed, "Yeah, right. And what reason do they have for keeping us alive?"

Merlin thought for a moment. The bandits could have kidnapped them, because Arthur was the prince and they could possibly get some good money out of it if they blackmail the king. Or such could at least be their plan, but all he said to Arthur was, "Ransom."

"Optimistic as ever, _Mer_ lin." Arthur spat, but there was no actual malice behind his words. Merlin smiled sadly and chuckled to himself, then bristles at the cold seeping into his bones. Arthur scoffed and took off his cloak, putting it over himself and Merlin like a blanket and huddling together underneath. He was sure he could make out one of Merlin's stupid smiles in the dim light and an embarrassed blush coated his cheeks at the thought of it. "Don't say anything, Merlin, we need to keep each other warm somehow."

"Not complaining," Merlin mumbled tiredly and let out a yawn. Seeds lay on his tongue and he swallowed them down speedily.

Arthur put his arms around Merlin, ignoring the sharp intake of breath as he had, no doubt, startled Merlin. He ignored his own feelings rumbling inside his chest in delight as the closeness, the intimacy. "I'm sure they're looking for us. We'll be out here soon, and if I have to fight them myself," Arthur said in an effort to comfort Merlin, who he was sure must be trembling more with anxiety and fear than the cold. He was delighted — if only inwardly, for he couldn't allow himself to show it — when Merlin relaxed into him. Something inside him was undeniably and impossibly pleased at the fact that Merlin relaxed so easily into his arms.

But Arthur was right, and Merlin knew it. The kidnappers did not bring them any food, and they likely wouldn't in the morning either. So Merlin stayed awake until Arthur fell asleep, and he checked whether that was the case before he turned around so that Arthur would not notice it when he used his curse to his advantage. He breathed in, breathing in the night's cold air. He leaned back against Arthur's chest, enjoying the warmth for a moment longer, allowing his emotions to linger in that place he usually forbade them from entering, namely his heart. Despite the rough start, he found himself immensely enjoying the prattish prince's presence over the past few weeks. Dare he say, he found himself looking forward to spending time with him, and from what he could tell, which was admittedly very little, but a very telling little, Arthur seemed to enjoy his presence just as much, if not, perhaps, a bit more. It gave Merlin hope.

He made sure Arthur was asleep, then he opened his mouth to speak most clearly. The truths to give him fruit were simple ones, but truths that were inherently tied to him. Most importantly, they were about his feelings. "I love my mother," he said clearly, and an apple fell from in front of his lips. He repeated it, and another fell from his lips. "I miss her deeply," he said and a strawberry fell from his lips, and another when he repeated the truth again, then again and another, again and another. That should suffice, he thought, and hid the fruit in his jacket. He would tell Arthur in the morning that he hid some fruit so they wouldn't starve completely.

Little did he know, Arthur wasn't actually asleep.

Little did he know, Arthur was freaking out.

And little did he know, Arthur had no clue how to deal with this.

And because Arthur had no clue how to deal with this, he decided not to deal with this. At least not yet. Maybe later. Maybe never. Maybe this was all some stupid dream. Yes. That must be it. There was no other possible explanation. But on the other hand, which was far too rational for its own good, his mind would not be able to make up Merlin's voice like that. He only knew Merlin's voice as a mumble, something barely above a whisper, and he had never heard him speak clearly. Never. Until now. And he knew his mind could not make such up, because he had dreamt about Merlin before, however inappropriate that may sound, and he knew how his dreams interpreted Merlin's voice, and even there, it was a mumble. It was not this.

He honestly did not know what to do. He didn't know what he _could_ do. Was there anything he could do in their current situation? They were both trapped here, after all, no way to get out on their own, nothing. Heck, Arthur wasn't even sure what had just happened! Merlin had said something, and had said it clearly, and fruit had fallen from his mouth! Fruit! But his words hadn't been of another language, no. No, because Arthur had clearly understood them! And he knew the language of sorcerers — well, no, he didn't, but he knew for a fact that what Merlin had said wasn't the language of sorcerers — and thus Merlin could not _be_ a sorcerer, he concluded.

But that left him with an unpleasant question.

What _was_ Merlin?

He would find out later, after they made it out of this alive.

 

Over the next few days, before their inevitable rescue — and how glad Arthur was about that — Merlin would wake Arthur up and surprise him with fruit, mumbling something along the lines of a young bandit feeling sympathetic towards them and not wanting them to die of starvation. Arthur pretended to believe him, and he liked to think that he would not have been so stupid to believe Merlin, even if he hadn't seen it for himself. He kept a closer eye on Merlin during those days, and would get him to talk frequently. He noticed that Merlin kept pausing and turning away from him, wiping at his mouth. He had no clue what that was about either.

That is, he had no clue until after they were rescued and returned back to Camelot. That was when he found out was else could come out of that mouth. And it was not pleasant.

Merlin was preparing a bath for him, like many times before, and they were having an actual conversation. One where Merlin almost spoke clearly. It was an achievement in and of itself to get Merlin to speak more than two sentences at a time, but to get him to speak so much as Arthur had managed, there was nothing to compare it to, and Arthur felt smugly proud for some reason.

The bathwater was the perfect temperature — strangely Merlin had managed to recreate this perfection of the bathwater's temperature many times and Arthur had no clue how, since all other servants he had once ordered to draw him a bath in the past had failed at this — and Arthur sunk into it like a rock, splashing some water over the edge of the tub, and he relaxed into it immediately.

Merlin was telling him some story or other Arthur had managed to coax out of him, from Ealdor.

"And, pray tell, what happened to that 'old ass Timothy'?" Arthur asked, actually somewhat invested in the story.

"Well, Will and I pulled a prank on him, but it ended really, really badly. As in, we nearly broke his neck, badly. Ended up breaking his hip instead!" Merlin mumbled, and Arthur, who was watching him closely and had been doing so since 'the incident', noticed how suddenly, Merlin's cheeks seemed to be getting bigger. Or fuller, rather. Arthur wondered whether it was more fruit, but then, wouldn't Merlin not just swallow it? Then again, if this was something which Merlin wanted to keep hidden, then it was obvious he would avoid something like that which could get Arthur's attention. But it had anyway.

Then, Arthur said something, which he couldn't remember afterwards, so we cannot tell you either, but it made Merlin laugh, and made him laugh _hard_. So hard, in fact, that the coins, copper and silver, that he had kept hidden in his cheeks came tumbling out and onto the floor.

Merlin froze, his eyes growing wide with fear as he stared down at the coins. Arthur stared too, now thoroughly confused. What was going on?

"What is this?" He found himself asking, utterly perplexed.

Merlin stiffened and stammered, then yelled, "Nothing!" with such panic, one might assume he was just accused of murder. But, clearly as he had spoken, a small toad fell from his mouth, at which Arthur stared in horror. Merlin saw it too and slapped his hands over his mouth and stumbled backwards, into the corner of the room, completely and utterly terrified, and that was not at what had come out of his mouth. Arthur found that fear was directed at _him_.

There was a heavy, sudden silence suffocating them, only broken by the occasional croak of the small toad. Arthur continued to stare at the toad in horror, then his gaze flicked up to Merlin, who had tears in his eyes. Immediately, Arthur grabbed his robes that were lying nearby and rose from his bath, covering his naked self with the robes and stepping out of the tub, avoiding the toad and coins under all circumstances.

"Merlin..." he kept his voice controlled and gentle, like he was trying to calm down a spooked horse. He slowly advanced towards Merlin, making sure the other could clearly see he was unarmed and had no intent to hurt him, while also leaving him plenty of room to escape should he desire it. "Calm down. I'm sure you can explain this," he said, giving Merlin ample permission and opportunity to lie to him. He was convinced that Merlin would take the opportunity without a second thought, but Merlin only shook his head. He closed his eyes and didn't even dare to look at Arthur. "Please, Merlin," said Arthur, softly, like he'd never done before. Finally, he reached Merlin, and reached out to touch him. Merlin flinched as Arthur's hand softly held his cheek, coaxing him to lift his head and look at him, which he then did.

Merlin looked absolutely terrified. And it broke Arthur's heart into several bits and pieces.

"Please," Merlin stammered, "Please don't kill me."

"I won't, Merlin. Trust me, I have no intention of killing you, no matter what this is," Arthur assured him, but Merlin, evidently, did not believe him, and shook his head harshly.

"You will kill me!" He exclaimed, and a toad fell from his lips. Merlin stared at the vile creature in shock, then looked back up at Arthur. "You won't kill me," he said with shocked realisation, and golden coins, seven of them in total, came tumbling from his mouth and clattered onto the floor.

"That's right, Merlin. I won't kill you. I won't let any harm come to you. But please, explain this to me. Explain to me why, when you speak clearly for once, coins and toads come falling from your mouth."

"A curse," Merlin forced his mouth to open wider than a mumble would allow, to speak clearly, and diamonds came falling from his lips, and even more so when he continued, "I was cursed when I was younger. A sorceress caught me lying, and cursed me, so that when I lie, I am punished, and when I speak the truth I am rewarded. The more significant the truth, the more valuable the reward. The more significant the lie, however, the viler the creature." The diamonds just kept tumbling down from his lips until he finished speaking, and Arthur looked at the valuable gems in amazement. Diamonds, of all sorts of colours, one more valuable than the last, and Arthur, yes even he, had to admit he had never seen such riches all in one place before. He was too distracted by the diamonds for a moment to process what Merlin had said, but when he did, he scowled to himself.

"You were cursed? Because a sorceress caught you lying?" He asked.

"Yes," another diamond, only one this time, tumbled out, "I suppose she wanted to teach me a lesson, me being a child at the time and all. I don't suppose she had malicious intent, otherwise, I don't think rewards for honesty would have been part of the curse, I think, but... well, she was caught and brought away before she could lift it... and I've been stuck with it since." An array of coins, fruit and pearls came tumbling out of his mouth then.

"You never voiced any ill opinion on magic," Arthur suddenly realized, "Even though you were cursed by it yourself."

Merlin opened his mouth and looked like he wanted to say something, then thought better of it and closed his mouth shut once more. This made Arthur suspicious and he showed it clearly.

"You're hiding something again, Merlin," Arthur chided harmlessly.

"Am not," said Merlin, a toad, bigger than the first few, tumbling from his lips onto the floor, though landing unharmed, thankfully for the toad. Arthur looked at the toad, then threw a very, _very_ unimpressed look at Merlin, his raised brow rivalling Gaius'.

"Merlin, I am serious. Whatever else it is you're hiding from me, it's okay. I will not kill you, will not have you killed, and will not let any harm come to you at all. It's okay. You can tell me, it's fine," Arthur tried to reassure Merlin, but it did not work.

"It is not fine!" Merlin exclaimed, two strawberries falling from his mouth. "I can't tell you, not when- not when-"

"Merlin?" Arthur asked, taken aback by the outburst.

"Not when you just stopped hating me..." Merlin returned to his usual mumble, but spit out the white diamond anyway.

If Arthur could be any more taken aback, this was what caused it. He was unpleasantly reminded of his former behaviour towards Merlin, and he felt very ashamed for it, like every time his thoughts drifted to those memories. He had vowed to himself never again to allow himself to treat another so despicably as he had Merlin.

"I will not hate you, Merlin. I have been horrible to you in the past, yes, and I am ashamed of it now, even more so considering I did not see the misery I put you in myself, but rather had to have someone else show me instead. I am ashamed of my past actions and my past behaviour, but please know that I do not hate you, and I will not hate you. You could be a sorcerer for all I care, and I would not hate you." To his infinite surprise, Arthur meant every word he had just said.

Merlin considered his words, stared at him for many moments too long, then, suddenly, without any warning, he said something that Arthur would never forget.

"I am a warlock."

There were no other words that could have broken, nay, annihilated the silence more effectively than these. What was worse was the purple silk, embroidered with pearls and gold in the most beautiful and intricate pattern Arthur had ever seen, that fell from Merlin's mouth. It was, at that very moment, the most significant truth Merlin had ever told. It wasn't just admitting to having magic, no, Arthur understood this clearly. It was much more than that. So much more, in fact, that he could not, for the life of him, express it in words or coherent thought. The purple, with gold and pearls embroidered silk floated gently onto Arthur's outstretched hand, and he stared at it, both in shock and in awe. He understood its meaning like nothing else.

His eyes were wide in his shock, and he was silent for long enough that it made Merlin antsy and anxious. Decisively, Arthur looked up and into Merlin's eyes, keeping his expression controlled carefully.

"I do not hate you," he said with firm determination, though he was not entirely sure what he felt instead. Protectiveness, maybe. Fierce protectiveness of this trembling little terrified thing in front of him. He was scared by what he was feeling, terrified, even, but Merlin looked like he was anticipating his execution, which might not be so far from the truth, actually, and might hit the nail right on the head. "I... I honestly don't know what to do with this, how to deal with this," he admitted, "but my word still stands. I will not kill you, have you killed, or let any harm come to you, not if I can help it, and I will not be the cause for your death or misery."

"But," Merlin didn't, couldn't understand, "But why?"

"I don't know," Arthur answered truthfully, "I don't know why I'm doing this. This is going against everything I've been brought up on, but..." Arthur took in a deep breath and shook his head, "I don't know what to say, I don't know what to do, and, I hate to admit it, but that scares me, but it also fascinates me, and- heck, I really don't know how to handle this."

Merlin, who couldn't help himself because all of this was _ridiculous_ , burst out laughing in a mix of nervous laughter and genuine ones.

"I don't know either!" He admitted, and the copper coins that fell from his mouth proved it true, "This is crazy, this is insane, it's- I don't know what it is!" More coins came tumbling out of his mouth, and Arthur wondered briefly to himself how many truths it would take for the entire floor to be covered in wealth.

"Insane it is," Arthur agreed, "What do we do?"

"What can we do?" Merlin returned.

"I think... I think cleaning all this up would be a great start," Arthur found himself chuckling as he gestured down at the pile of diamonds, coins and so forth. In his hand, he still held the purple silk, and about this he was most unsure what to do about.

"Yes," Merlin nodded, another coin falling from his mouth. He looked the newest coin for a moment, then sighed, and mumbled, "I think I should keep quiet for a bit." He was rewarded with a strawberry and swallowed it down swiftly. Arthur nodded.

"Might be for the best at first, until... until we figure out what to do with all of this..." Arthur said and gestured vaguely at the pile of wealth between them. Merlin nodded and got a small chest from within Arthur's closet, and began gathering up the diamonds first, until the small chest was full with them. Of course, Merlin had no eye for what was valuable and what wasn't, but he had head enough to think to separate the different valuables from each other and keep them in separate chests, and Arthur aided him with it.

After they were done picking everything up and putting it away, except for the fruit, which Merlin cleaned to be eaten later, they sat down on Arthur's bed together, neither of them sure they grasped all the implication this reveal had thrust upon them, but both being vaguely aware it was a heavy load, indeed.

"What..." Arthur was hesitant to ask, then thought better of it and worded it another way, "You being a warlock... there's more to this than you said, isn't there?"

Merlin did not speak, for fear of more wealth to clean up, but he nodded clearly.

"And... do any of these things involve me?" Arthur continued.

Merlin looked at him with a gaze that seemed to convey so many — too many — messages at once, and Arthur grew confused. Then Merlin nodded.

"Did you..." He didn't know how to ask this without sounding stupid, because he was rather sure he knew the answer already and he felt foolish for having to ask it, like he was some child in need of reassurance, "Did you ever enchant me?"

Merlin looked almost offended as he shook his head, and that made Arthur chuckle, but also feel bad about having asked in the first place, and he would feel even worse because of what he would ask of Merlin next.

"Can you... can you say it?" Arthur asked, not sure why he needed the physical reassurance of Merlin's curse that he wasn't lying.

"I never enchanted you," said Merlin, holding out his hands in front of his mouth, and catching the silver coin that came tumbling down. Oddly, the silver coin had a hole in the middle, and Arthur did not recognize the currency. Merlin saw Arthur's curious and relieved gaze and handed him the silver coin. There were words on it that Arthur couldn't understand, so he figured they must be another language. Perhaps he could find out what language and what it meant. For now, he pocketed the coin. For some reason, he wanted to keep it close. For some reason, that coin had meaning to him, and he didn't know exactly why, though he had a vague idea.

It was proof that Merlin hadn't lied to him about something so big, and for some reason that was all that Arthur needed to be sure he would rather die than let anyone hurt Merlin for being a sorcerer — or warlock, since Merlin insisted there was indeed a difference.

Weeks passed by. Weeks in which Merlin scarcely said a word to Arthur, and Arthur did not speak to him trying to get a rise out of him. It wasn't any sudden hostility, rather, both boys knew that the other had to think long and hard about what had happened, and how they would move forward. It was a silent agreement that, until they decided how to go about this, they would simply pretend it didn't happen at all.

People around them did not notice, thankfully, how little the two spoke to each other. However, these few weeks of silence did not tear at their bond, rather, it strengthened it, it seemed. This was especially obvious in how, despite Merlin speaking very little, Arthur got increasingly better at reading his face, though little it contorts, and no one else could pride themselves with being able to understand the most silent of muttering coming from Merlin, but Arthur did. It was a strange thing to pride oneself with, but Arthur was content with it.

After these weeks, Merlin and Arthur found themselves, like many times before, back in Arthur's chambers. Arthur sat on the bed, staring at Merlin, a single question in his gaze. Merlin nodded, answering the silent question with the same silence, and thus he allowed Arthur to break it.

They talked through the whole night. Arthur demanded the truth, and knew he got it if the diamonds, pearls and gold coins were anything to go by. Merlin, in turn, told everything the prince wanted to know, for how long he had his magic, ("Since I was born,") what he used it for, ("Only for you, Arthur,")and so forth. Eventually, he got Merlin to talk about destiny. Their destiny. Arthur had to take a break at this, finding out he had this grant destiny that he was supposed to fulfil, and he couldn't lie, he was freaking out. Merlin assured him he had faith in him — which Arthur would have doubted had it not been for the pearls that had tumbled from Merlin's mouth telling him it was indeed true, and no, he did not tear up at the revelation.

At the end of the night, Arthur was completely in awe, and they found themselves on Arthur's bed together, leaning on each other, Merlin's head on Arthur's shoulder and Arthur's head on Merlin's. Merlin stretched out his hand and, upon Arthur's request, conjured a flame in his palm. Arthur stretched out his hand as well, to touch the flame, and it was warm against his own palm, but did not burn him when he touched it. Instead, the flame felt like was pulling Arthur closer, but not closer to it, rather, it was pulling him closer to Merlin.

Arthur chanced a look at Merlin, and he looked just as in awe as Arthur, before catching Arthur staring, and blushing for some reason that neither of them understood at first. The flame on Merlin's palm decided it liked Arthur better and migrated onto him, wandering up and down his arm as if it was caressing it, which it felt like. But Arthur did not have an eye for the flame. Instead, he was lost in Merlin's eyes, which were glowing a molten gold that swirled and lured Arthur deeper into them to drown him, and how he was tempted to let them. And he did.

Neither knew who leaned in first, neither knew who closed the gap, but both thanked the other for the bliss of the kiss that followed. It was unsure, a bit awkward, but it was divine nonetheless. It was like an explosion engulfed and contained in a sheet of silk, dazzling and intense, yet soft and precious. It was exciting them and calmed the fierce storms of their minds at the same time. Neither wanted this moment to stop, and it would burn into their memories to be remembered and cherished as the moment where they understood, truly _understood_ what they were to each other, and no amount of curses or magic or dragons or kings could tear them apart, and it was destiny that cared for them so and had them find each other in this moment of bliss, of excitement and calm in one mesmerizing contradiction.


End file.
